Playtime outside cage

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iluvmypets

For those of you who have your piggies indoors and take them out daily to let them exercise, do you confine them to a special area in a room? Do you put anything on the floor to prevent them from soiling it and if so, what?

I just took my new boar out to play and he decided to pee right on my carpet. That was expected, I just didn't expect it to be just minutes after. Anyway, just looking for any good ideas so I can prevent myself from scrubbing the carpet again :)

Thanks!
 
There isn't anything I've found ::) The result being my carpet will never be the same again ?

By the way the reason he peed so early was because he was scent marking. O0
 
Thanks!

Wow, I had no idea they did that with urine. He's only 7 weeks old now -- will it get better over time as he realizes that there are no other piggies around or will it be ongoing?

Hmmm, I think it's time to invest in some plastic or rubber mats...
 
Mine have the run of the room, but like it best under my bed, where I have carpet squares covering the whole area, then I use towels, cloths, flannels etc to cover the carpet squares, then I put their toys under there. They all pee and poop under there, but I change the towels etc twice a day, sometimes inbetween piggies ( as I have 7 and each piggy gets a turn round the room for about an 1/2 hr or so). Then once a week I take everything up, sprinkle bicarbonate of soda all over the sqaures leave for a couple of hours then hoover up and spray everything with pets@home odour remover which is safe for pets things, then put fresh towels down and rearrange toys!

Its a lot of washing but has to be done to prevent smellies!
 
They tend to prefer areas that are dark, so under those places (in my case the hutch and under the table) I place newspaper and cheap bath mats. They only pee and poop there. You could block off anywhere you dont want him to go and put mats/old towels in the darker/hidey places where he is likely to go. Also might be worth while getting a litter tray and putting some of his bedding from his cage in there which already smells of him and he will likely go to where that is placed. He will soon get the idea :)
 
Wouldn't recommend the plastic as my piggies used to be scared of it! think it's the texture and feel of it. Also with the rubber it'd have to be non toxic (as you know they'll have a nibble at anything they're not supposed to!)

I used to buy a huge roll of corrugated cardboard and roll it across the floor in the hallway then just throw it away when playtime was over. Some of the munchers treated it as a food supplement but as it's basically only thick paper they came to no harm and the and the carpets didnt suffer either!
 
I just put newspaper down in their playpen and throw it away afterwards.

I NEVER let mine run free, they just hide under the furniture and it's a pain to get them back out (one got stuck under the sofabed once and that took me ages to sort as I couldn't lift the damn thing ::) (sofabed not guinea pig)).
 
Lizzie71 said:
I NEVER let mine run free, they just hide under the furniture and it's a pain to get them back out (one got stuck under the sofabed once and that took me ages to sort as I couldn't lift the damn thing ::) (sofabed not guinea pig)).

My pair come GALLOPING home when they hear the hay bag and just jump striaght in quick!
The others can't jump striaght in but as soon as they hear the hay bag they start to lurk round my feet!

My old boy is usually standing on his door waiting patiently for me to finish, having had a quick 'once round the room' to make sure everything is 'ok' he just watched me clean his cage then jumps in as soon as I've taken all the old stuff out and runs round the cage as I put new in!

Well trained my lot!
 
lavenderjade said:
Also might be worth while getting a litter tray and putting some of his bedding from his cage in there which already smells of him and he will likely go to where that is placed.

I tried that ages ago when I first got piggies, because thats what rabbit owners do, but my lot nudged the tray out of the way so they could poop behind in private! ;D ;D
 
I have a plastic mattress protector thingy, I put that down then I put a sheet of fleece down..however, they are in a run not free ranging in the room so that may not work for you?
 
mine have a spare room to play in. i put then in when i wake up and put them back in there c&c at 2ish. I'm lucky cause they seem to do the business in one corner, so i put down a newspaper and a towel. obviously they dont always use it and there are accidents, which means I'm on my hands and knees cleaning ::)
 
On the subject of "mess" does any have any good ways of getting rid of the stains?
 
I never have problems getting mine back in, I just rustle a bag and they come galloping as Piglover says ;D
 
Mine run round the utility room which is laid down to vinyl. I deliberately keep it really tidy in there so I don't have to clear it. I put some newspaper down under a unit where they tend to pee. I've got a big rug which is folded up along one side. Was going to get rid of it because they kept peeing on it and it's a bit wiffy! but they love jumping up onto it and popcorning so I haven't got the heart to get rid of it. I just mop the floor every now and again. The boys don't seem to wee as much as the girls.
 
Jane said:
I have a plastic mattress protector thingy, I put that down then I put a sheet of fleece down..however, they are in a run not free ranging in the room so that may not work for you?
Jane, is your mattress protector a flimsy piece of plastic? I saw some at a store today, but wasn't sure if that's what you were talking about...maybe yours is sturdy?
 
iluvmypets said:
Jane said:
I have a plastic mattress protector thingy, I put that down then I put a sheet of fleece down..however, they are in a run not free ranging in the room so that may not work for you?
Jane, is your mattress protector a flimsy piece of plastic? I saw some at a store today, but wasn't sure if that's what you were talking about...maybe yours is sturdy?
Yes it is just a flimsy thin peice of plastic. I assume after sometime it will probably "wear" away a bit and maybe I will need a new one but I've been using this all year and it's still fine. I cover it with fleece so their nails can't go through it or anything so I don't see the problem - it's only to stop their pee going to the carpet ;)
 
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